LOS ANGELES,CA – Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film,One Battle After Another,starring Leonardo DiCaprio,is sparking heated debate and drawing criticism from conservative media outlets who accuse the movie of glorifying political violence and anti-conservative sentiment. The film, released this year, depicts a politically charged landscape of escalating conflict and rebellion.
Critics on the right have taken issue with the film’s portrayal of revolutionary action. The Blaze published an opinion piece stating the film’s “festivity of vitriol and murder is clarifying,” arguing that the movie actively encourages viewers to support violent resistance against conservative viewpoints. The article specifically cited a scene were DiCaprio’s character shouts “¡Viva la revolución!” while detonating bombs, suggesting the film intends for audiences to cheer such acts. “If you’re not cheering,well,those bombs are meant for you… Increasingly,Hollywood views half the country not as fellow citizens with outdated beliefs,but as enemies who deserve punishment,” the blaze article asserted.
conversely, some critics view the film as a satirical exaggeration of political extremism.They point to the film’s depiction of both a conspiratorial white supremacist group and an ultra-organized left-wing network, as well as a caricature of a hawkish military figure reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove. A flashback sequence set during Obama’s first presidency, depicting rebels attacking a detention facility, further complicates interpretations, occurring years before the heightened debate surrounding U.S. immigration policies under President Trump.
The New Republic published an essay characterizing One Battle After Another as a fantasy of a left-wing movement that doesn’t exist in reality. David Klion wrote that the film’s rebels “resemble the right’s conspiratorial image of ‘antifa supersoldiers'” rather than ancient groups like the Weather Underground. Klion also noted a “discordant reaction” to audience laughter and cheering during scenes depicting the forceful separation of immigrant families.
Richard Newby, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, countered the claim that the film promotes violence, arguing that it “depicts [violence] as a temporary solution, one that… only results in casualties on both sides and creates victims out of those who suffer under the same realities of America.”
The controversy surrounding One Battle After Another highlights the increasingly polarized climate surrounding political themes in contemporary cinema and the varying interpretations of onscreen depictions of conflict and resistance.
